1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus for obtaining an image by photoelectric conversion, in particular, an imaging apparatus serving as a camera capable of obtaining so-called light field information (also called “light field camera”; hereinafter referred to as “LFC”).
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increase in research into an LFC in order to realize a new image pickup function. The LFC has a problem in that resolving power of positional information (resolution in the case of image) deteriorates because angular information is obtained simultaneously with the positional information of rays of light.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-167395 discloses a technology for combining an image pickup function of performing as the LFC and a normal image pickup function by using optical elements capable of controlling power according to an applied voltage. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-312080 discloses a technology for combining the image pickup function of performing as the LFC and the normal image pickup function by arranging a microlens array movably backward and forward within a photographing optical path.
However, in the related-art technologies disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents, it is necessary to provide expensive optical elements and to provide a complicate backward and forward driving mechanism, and hence an apparatus becomes more expensive and larger in size.
Therefore, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus capable of combining an image pickup function of performing as an LFC and normal image pickup function with a simple configuration.